The potential that Satoshi Nakamoto introduced to the world, through the Bitcoin Whitepaper https://nakamotoinstitute.org/bitcoin/ has motivated a community of people who are working to make the world a better place, who are looking at a broader perspective and who see the world for all of its potential.

“I think it’s going to take some great visionaries. It will require governments to create this new consensus. The irony of that is that we already agreed to some consensus on the blockchain in order to prove proof of work, proof of stake or whatever, but government leaders, big organizations, who are running the world as we know it will need to generically agree on some consensus, if we are going to work towards this.”

– Mann Matharu

Mann Matharu was inspired, after reading the Whitepaper, by the core principles of Bitcoin and blockchain technology — decentralization, trustlessness and transacting peer to peer.

He saw it as a technology in line with human nature. Creating a system of transparency and immutability breeds a more fair society. He felt that it was “what humans are leaning towards anyway, just naturally, instinctively.”

Mann works as a blockchain consultant and he’s also an author, probably not surprisingly, of an award-winning novella about a man looking for a deeper more meaningful existence. I talk to Mann about the ideas and the potential of blockchain technology and also about the importance of ‘the journey’ that he so eloquently illustrates through the storyline in his book.

“The Monk of Lantau” http://mannmatharu.com/author/ serves as a reminder to think a little deeper about what’s important, more than the day to day that most of us tend to get caught up in. It questions where we’re looking for what it is we’re truly seeking.

And with the revolutionary technology of blockchain brought into existence through Bitcoin, we, as a society, are now able to think a little deeper about where we want this next phase of the internet to take us.

Projecting into blockchain’s future potential, Mann talks about non-profit organizations like UNICEF taking advantage of blockchain’s transparency. If there is a system for tracking donor funds and where they’re used in non-profit organizations, will that increase donor participation?

He also believes that we may one day have a society with no fake news. If there’s a single source of truth and evidence or notable information can be verified before it goes on the blockchain, then the dissemination of information, verifiable information will be enhanced.

We discuss smaller governments with smaller populations and shorter histories that are adopting the technology faster than others because they have something like a blank canvas to be able to almost start again from the ground up. What will that mean for greater adoption and when will larger governments catch up?

Ona personal level we talk about something negative in his past that ended up propelling him in a positive direction. Not everyone can turn things around for the better, but when Mann was met with a negative situation, it fuelled him with determination to make the most of his future and move forward.

WhenI asked Mann about what it takes to change the world, aside from determination, he said he believes it’s a single creative thought. In order do what hasn’t been done before, an idea needs spark imagination.

Lastly, we talk about the difference between creativity and competition and how these two ideas are on opposites ends of a spectrum. Being in the competitive vein may fuel some people toward positive action, but Mann’s clearly someone who’s creative.